Absent

Hey all.

I’m not in today, sorry about that. However you still have plenty to do!!

By the end of Mrs Knights lesson on Thursday you must have finished all of the work. You need to post the following slides on your blog ready for me and Miss to mark.

• Research into your chosen era/artist
• Research into plastics
• Initial ideas
• Pro Desktop screen shots of your components and assembled chairs
• Photos of your models to show your development
• Photos of your finished design

You also need to hand your development models in and the finished piece.

During the lesson today you need to organise yourselves in order to complete all of the tasks. As long as Mr Simmons is in the room then you can use the laser cutter.

Me and Mrs Knight are both a little concerned that hardly any of you seem to be spending any of your free time down here in Technology. This is a huge concern for us, but as long as all the work above is submitted by 3pm on Thursday, there won’t be an issue.

Enjoy the lesson.

Mr Thomas

Lesson Objectives

• To continue with the design of your chairs
• To begin to understand how to use Pro Desktop and in particular the process of 'assembling' a drawing
• To understand how the laser cutter works!!!

PLTS in today's lesson:

Effective Participators= Try to stay calm and work with others to find a way forward

Self Managers= Think ahead so that you minimise problems

You will begin the lesson by showing me the progress you have made on Pro Desktop so far. Although you are working as a team, you really should be both drawing your chair in Pro Desktop. This is to allow you both to get use to the crazy world of Pro Desktop and to understand how to use the laser cutter.

I will then go through how you can 'assemble' your chair. This is quite a complicated process, but an essential one never the less. Following this I will take you through the process of saving your components as a DXF file in order to cut it out on a laser cutter.

You will also be given a tutorial on how to use the laser cutter. You will need a paper and pen for this as you will need to write down the process. By the end of the project you should be able to use the laser cutter by yourself!!! Once you have recieved the tutorial on the laser cutter, you will be free to use it when you like (as long as there is a teacher in the room!!).

Me and Mrs Knight want to see at least four models of your chair. Each one should have a slight development and the final model should be like the one you will make out of plastic.

Any questions please ask!!!

In the famous words of Usher: Peace Out, A Town Down.

Lesson Objectives

• To continue with the design of your chairs
• To begin to understand how to use Pro Desktop!!
• To draw up your ideas in separate component pieces
• To understand about woods

PLTS in today's lesson:

Effective Participators= Try to stay calm and work with others to find a way forward

Self Managers= Think ahead so that you minimise problems

You will begin the lesson by showing your partners your initial ideas. I want you to discuss your ideas with one another and give your partner 3 improvement points about their initial ideas. Remember to try and be critical, whilst being positive!!!

I will then go through an introduction into Pro Desktop!! We will use some basic beginner exercises for those of you who can't use the program and those of you who are a little better at it can even begin to draw up your ideas. Those of you who have an idea of how to use the program please make every effort to help those who may not be so good at it.

At some point during the lesson we will also be having a theory lesson with Mr Simmons. The lesson will be about wood.

That's all for now folks,

Mr Thomas

Lesson Objectives

• To finish your 250 word report on a product you wished you'd never purchased
• To look at the Design History Power Point
• To choose an era of design that is going to influence the chair you are going to design
• To create one page of research on the era and/or artist that is going to influence your design
• To begin sketching some initial ideas for your chair

The pairs that you will be working in are as follows:

Nicole and Amie,
Alex, Anthony and Pete
Romy and Emma
Alex and Becky

Influence your designing!

Assignment 2

Many designers use an influence to guide their thinking and creativity. Theses influences can be taken from any form, however they mainly relate to the product being designed.

Antoni Gaudi 1852 - 1926

A fine example of influential design is that of the infamous Antoni Gaudi, who used forms, found in nature and incorporated these to create designs in buildings.

This assignment will help you understand that you’re not alone with your thoughts and that you should always look to use influence in your designing. Also it is equally important for you to have a good understanding of the History of Design and how the eras of design have steered the look and feel of every day life.

You are required to work as a pair to design and manufacture a concept model of a ‘scaled down’ child’s chair, influenced by a designer in an era of your choice.

The only specification is that you must design the chair so that it can be flat packed and be designed for the mass market.

Criteria

You are required to produce a mini e-portfolio that demonstrates your understanding of the chosen designers work and the era in which he, she or even a group of designers worked in.

You must show how your concepts have been derived through the use of the influence.
You must create a CAD illustration as a virtual prototype.
You must display how you have used modelling to assist in your development of the design.

The concept model must be produced using 3mm Acrylic and should slot together with out the need of adhesive.


Assessment

10 marks awarded for your design work and the influence used.
This must be posted on your Blog.
10 marks are awarded for the use of modelling.
10 marks are awarded for the quality of your CAD illustration.
10 marks are awarded for the use of the CAM.
10 marks are awarded for the team work and also the completed model.

I should of never have purchased...

The I Phone 4!!! I love many things about the I Phone 4, it is easy to use, has great apps, a fantastic camera, great video quality and all round great functionality. Whereas, most of your articles will be complaining about how rubbish something works (function) in comparison to how good it looks (form), I am going to break the mould and complain about the form over the function. As previously stated, I love the functionality of the new I Phone. However , I do prefer, and by some distance, the form of the I Phone 3GS. I just think it feels a lot nicer than the newer 4. Its ‘curved’ back sits in your hand a lot easier than the square shape of the latest version and is a lot more ergonomically friendly. The square shape of the new phone can be awkward to grip and texting can be an issue.

I wouldn’t be without my I Phone 4 and the title of “I should of never have purchased...” is probably a little bit strong, but the fact of the matter is that I’m not happy with form of my new phone and prefer the shape of the older version. Unfortunately, we can’t always have what we want, how we like it, so I’ll have to put up and shut up.

Rant over.

Welcome, Welcome

Morning one and all. I am very pleased to welcome you to my Blog. I will be using this blog extensively during your time studying A Level Product Design. I will be posting what you should be achieving in my lessons, any cover work if I'm not in and boring things such as marking criteria’s etc, etc.

So your first task in Year 12 was to write a 250 word article on a product that you had wished you had never brought. The assignment is described in more detail below:

Assignment One

I should never have purchased!

You are required to write a 250 word article that explains your frustration towards a product that you wish you had never purchased.

Your article can be based on any product you wish. However there needs to be a focus on FORM V’s FUNCTION.

You are required to post your article on your personal blog.

Assessment:

10 marks awarded for quality of presentation of your Blog.
30 marks awarded for the quality of the article.
10 marks awarded for the quality of written communication.

I will then mark this via your blog by adding comments to your postings. This task needs to be finished by the end of tomorrow's lesson (7th September 2010).

Peace.